Week in the Caucasus: review of main events on February 3-9

Opening of the Olympic Games in Sochi; snowy and frosty weather in the Caucasus; resignation statement of Batumi Mayor and mass prisoners' hunger strike in Georgia; death of three people in Cherkessk SIZO and ROVD of Karachay-Cherkessia; hunger strike of parents of large families and of children with disabilities in Volgograd, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of February 3-9, 2014, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

Opening of Sochi Olympics

In the evening on February 7, the "Fisht" Stadium in Sochi housed the opening ceremony of the 22^nd Winter Olympic Games, which will last till February 23. Many Sochi residents watched the ceremony broadcast live on large screens installed in the locality named "Life Site Sochi". In total, 40,000 spectators were present at the stadium. The Olympiad expects to welcome about 150,000 participants and 1.5 million guests. The competitions will be held on 11 sporting venues, located in the Mountain and Coastal Clusters. In fact, the competitions were launched on February 6, when athletes began competing in three events: slopestyle, mogul and team figure skating. On February 8, first medals were won at the Olympics; on the second Olympic day, eight sets of medals were granted.

Starting January 7, Sochi was put under the enhanced security regime; and 40,000 policemen were deployed in the area of the Greater Sochi. According to a source from law enforcement bodies, the Games will be secured by some 70,000 law enforcers, including at least 1000 FSB (Federal Security Bureau) agents. On February 6, the spokesman of the General Staff of the Russian Navy reported that two American military ships entered the Black Sea, and will stay in the eastern part of the sea in neutral water; on February 7, they were seen in the neutral water of the Black Sea near the Sochi aquatic area.

On February 7, the Olympic capital opened the "Adyg's House"; and on February 5, a delegation of foreign Circassians arrived in Sochi to take part in the opening ceremony; while earlier activists of Circassian organizations had repeatedly accented the need to include the Circassian component into the cultural programme of the Olympic Games in Sochi. The opinions of Russian Circassian activists regarding the Games have diverged; thus, Arambij Khapay, a member of the executive committee of the Maikop organization "Adyge Khase-Circassian Council", pointed to the absence of the Circassian component in the opening ceremony, while Mukhamed Khafitse, Vice-President of the International Circassian Association, believes that Circassian widely represented in the cultural program of the Olympic Games.

Snowy and frosty weather in the Caucasus

Last week, residents of Southern Russia and countries of Southern Caucasus continued their struggle with the severe weather, caused by heavy snowfalls and frost, which stated diminishing by the end of the week. A complicated situation was in Dagestan, where the Kazbek District was even put under the state of emergency. It was reported by Alibek Aliev, an envoy of the head of Dagestan, that in Makhachkala city utilities services failed to cope with snow removal. In the Rostov Region severe frosts and snowfalls caused to suspend 261 schools. During the state of emergency, which was lifted in most localities of the region on February 5, 38 people were hospitalized with frostbite symptoms. Despite the fact that back on February 2 all traffic jams on regional roads were eliminated, over 5000 locals, dissatisfied the authorities' readiness for the winter, signed an online petition demanding to dismiss a number of officials.

A sharp deterioration in weather conditions was noted in Azerbaijan. Temporary shelters, which were used by 420 people, were set up in the country's capital Baku and the city of Sumgait. At night on February 3, a woman died of frostbite in Baku. In early February, severe frosts caused water supply outages in a few residential areas in Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Georgia: resignation statement of Batumi Mayor and mass prisoners' hunger strike

In the evening on February 3, Djemal Ananidze, the Mayor of the city of Batumi, submitted resignation, attributing his decision to the upcoming local self-government elections and his unwillingness to be responsible for the pre-election promises of the "Georgian Dream" Coalition. However, until the next sitting of the Sakrebulo (City Council), Ananidze will continue his work at the Mayoralty. The Sakrebulo Deputies may reject his resignation, said Irakli Chavleishvili, the Speaker. Activists of the "United National Movement" and "Georgian Dream" have treated the Mayor's statement as a political step.

On February 7, in the Gegut Prison near Kutaisi, about 1000 prisoners went on hunger strike in protest against the ill-treatment by the prison personnel. Eka Beseliya, the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, said that the hunger-strikers demand to change the prison administration, and added that three members of the special commission have been sent to the prison. According to Sozar Subari, the Minister of Corrections of Georgia, the protest was organized by the criminal bosses, who serve their terms in the Gegut Prison.

KChR: three deaths in Cherkessk SIZO and Ust-Djegutin ROVD

On February 3, a local resident Murat Borlakov was detained, together with his two friends, by policemen and taken to the Ust-Djegutin ROVD (District Interior Division) of the Karachay-CherkessianRepublic (KChR). According to his friends and relatives, an hour after the detention, due to use of torture, Borlakov died. In the evening on February 3, his relatives blocked the Federal Highway Vladikavkaz-Dombay. The action was stopped after assurances of Kazimir Botashev, the Interior Minister of the KChR, that he would take the incident under his personal control and removal of Albert Lobjanidze, the head of the ROVD from his post. On February 4, they detained Murat Karakotov, the chief of the criminal police of the district, and other 10 policemen of the ROVD; later, two of them were arrested.

On February 8, the advocate of Arthur Aidinov, one of the defendants detained in SIZO (pre-trial prison) No. 1 of the city of Cherkessk, reported the death of his client on January 24 under unclear circumstances. Aidinov's parents and the advocate assert that he was tortured at the police station after detention. Investigators said the he got poisoned with some unidentified substance and began an inquiry into the incident. Another death in SIZO No. 1 of Cherkessk became known on February 4, when the lawyer, whose clients are also kept there, said that a man sentenced on charges of raping a minor girl to 12 years in prison, committed suicide.

Volgograd Region: parents of large families and disabled children hold hunger strike

On February 4, the office of the former Volgograd Regional Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian   federation (CPRF) became the venue of a hunger strike initiated by parents with many children and parents of children with disabilities, who demand to solve their housing problems, increase benefits and social assistance to large families and disabled children. On February 4, the hunger-strikers were visited by a group of regional officials, who promised to report their problems to the Regional Duma and the Governor. However, the protesters said that no specific timelines for addressing their problems were granted by the officials. Some of the hunger-strikers spend the night at home; others stay at the venue – the former CPRF office. The hunger strike is held in the so-called "fan-type" format – one man is on hunger strike every day. On February 7, four hunger-strikers needed urgent medical care.